Live Lives

I was inspired to write this article because of my best friend. He's had some difficult decisions lately.

Howling from east to west is the sound of wind. Winter breezes hush the silence of the earth. Animals seek hidden shelter from the thunderous mountains above. The moisture begins to fill the deepness of the woods. The trees eagerly await the weather before them. The vibrant, watercolored skies change into an unnatural darkness. Everlasting hunger consumes the wide land. Then finally, everything turns dreary. And the atmosphere begins to cry. Tears cause cascades down broken shafts. Tears erode muggy streets. Tears collapse upon the pail, dry soil until their life ends as well.

An old man lays awaiting his fate. Or maybe even his escape. He wonders in discontent about his life. He ponders all his mistakes. He carries them as a burden. An engraved graveness wrinkles his brow. A plastered sadness amounts upon his lips. The man's eyes were decaying. They grayness of them pierced the soul. His rough cheeks have no dimples, and no warmth. No memories of love have ever crossed his face. Only harshness has entered his pupils.

On this particular winters night, a gentle young lady approached him. Her beauty and grace followed her at every step. She walked cautiously to the foot of his blank bed and spoke four words.. " why so troubled sir?" No one had ever cared for him in a tenderly manner. Not even the air he breathed seemed to comfort him. His eyes glanced upon her and he spoke bitterly," I am not troubled for I am trouble. Leave. No one has ever spoken to me. So neither should you. Why would you come to me? What good would I do to your kind? I'll tell you. None."

She replied with concern," Tell me. Tell me what has happened. Tell me what despises you so. Use that voice you have inside you. Tell." He gazed upon her roses cheeks, delicate figure, and hazel eyes. She was full of life. Or was she life herself? He spoke with insanity," I have always been this way. I never knew my real father. He abandoned my mother with me. My step father never cared for me. He always left me to waste away. I never had much encouragement to become anything. I always wanted to be free, and choose for myself. My step father chose my life. He chose my university, my career, and even my extracurricular activities. Now allow me to fast forward past my childhood... On my way to work one day, I crashed. My accident went unnoticed to my family. In the end, I was threatened by a disease. A disease that has put me in this hospital today. Are you happy now?"

She only replied," Then what do you choose?"

He was struck still. He realized he had a choice now. A choice to better him. A choice to make himself joyful. He croaked," death." He slowly collapsed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep. A smile arose across his white skin. He found his fate, and he escaped the cruel world he once knew. He was off to seek other adventures of the past.

The wind drifts across the depthless land. An eternity of suffering is about to pass. And the tears spread will cease to pour. And now the lifeless will have a reason to live. They will live for death to breathe.

Subscribe

Get Teen Ink’s 48-page monthly print edition. Written by teens since 1989.